Fritillaria 2009

[Lesley Cox]

This zoning system is American, right? When I first joined Trillium-L I was asked to put my zone and hadn't a clue. Someone on the list looked at the geography, the climate etc and told me I was Zone 9.

[David Nicholson]

Oron, as far as I know the American Hardiness Zone temperatures for Zone 9 are -7 to -1, and for Zone 10 are -1 to +4

[Gerry Webster]

This zoning system is American, right?

How hardy do you have to be to resist this creeping Americanisation?

[Lesley Cox]

I think it's almost impossible to avoid or resist. It's probably close to blasphemy to say it but I'm already suffering from Obama-itis.

[arillady]

Even though it is an American System - it does make sense to have a system - rather than the 5 or so regions here eg Mediterranean , temperate etc. 44C today forecast - but 20c overnight which allows all doors and windows to be opened for the gully coolness to cool the house - no air conditioner here at home. Unless the paeonies are in shade they get pretty burnt as does even the leaves of Salvation Jane - Echium sp.
Radiated heat is the worst for new roses here.
Pat

[johnw]

This zoning system is American, right?

How hardy do you have to be to resist this creeping Americanisation?

Very tender.

johnw

[Otto Fauser]

Oron, I do not grow your greenish - yellow form of F. persica , which is stunning , but the dark form grows and flowers well here -at the moment you could think I live in a
semi- desert climate, 40C and not a drop of rain since Christmas , also severe watering
restrictions . Yet a lot of other Frit. species  , circa 60 or so in my garden grow and flower well -except F. alburyana refuses to flower.
 I think I live in zone 10 , only rarely down to -3 at the most , altitude 500m.,
rainfall in a normal year [ which we have not had for at least 5 years] is about
800 -900 mm..with most falling in winter,and smaller amounts in autumn and spring .
Tulips , peonies, Rhododendron species , just to name a few , grow well here - so all in all we must be grateful to garden in a favourable climate.
    Otto.

[maggiepie]

Here's a handy link for hardy zones for various countries.

http://www.pacificbulbsociety.org/pbswiki/index.php/HardinessZoneMaps

 

[Oron Peri]

How world climate changes rapidly... 

Sorry for all this confusion.

I have checked again, there are two usefull scales,, the first is the USDA plant hardiness Zone [1-11 zones], and the second which is more detailed  is the Western gardening book/sunset [1-24 zones].

According to USDA i am situated  in zone 10b while Pam is in zone 8b or 9a and Otto in 10a.

- and I can grow a few Paeonies and Tulips here )[/size]

Thank you Hans for reminding me of that....

[Oron Peri]

Otto,

That is incredible that you grow 60 taxa of Fritillaria....
Your weather seems to be the perfect one, you live much higher and enjoy double rain falls
I can hardly grow Fritillaria, they need a colder weather.

At the moment I grow F. persica, F. bithynica [from Samos], f. rhodia and F. sp from Kemer [havnt flowered  yet], all originally from sea level.

[gote]

The zones must be enjoyed with moderation.
There are a number of zone systems out there including the Swedish one.
However, since Americans insist on their system just as they insist on inches, Fahrenheit etc. the American system is given undue prominence. (Low zone = cold climate)
The US zones were originally used to assess hardiness of trees and shrubs - I think they originated at the Arnold Arboretum.
They are defined from the average annual minimum temperature (which of course must be defined in itself).
The Swedish zones refer to fruit trees and were originally based on which cultivars will survive in a certain area. (Low zone =warm climate)
It makes good sense for woody subjects but the degree of dormancy at the time of the lowest temperature is, of course very important.
For plants which may be protected by snow or soil (Bulbs) the zones are not very informative. They are, of course better than nothing but often misleading.
You can find maps in many publications.
To find the zone in your own area you can use a manual of woody subjects, see which are known to survive and not, and refer back from the manual.
This is actually better than relying on meteorlogical data.
The site http://www.uk.gardenweb.com/forums/zones/hze2.html gives a map over Sweden that proves my point. It says that I am in zone 6. The Swedish hardiness zone is however, zone 3. If I use Redher's Manual of Cultivated Trees and shrubs I find that  trees from zone 4 usually survive and those from zone 5 are unreliably hardy which in reality puts me in Zone 4.5.
Göte

[Gerry Webster]

I think it's almost impossible to avoid or resist. It's probably close to blasphemy to say it but I'm already suffering from Obama-itis.

Lesley - me too. It reminds me of Blair-itis & we know what happened there.

[Lesley Cox]

I see that according to our last night's weather on TV, Melbourne is today expected to have 43C. You'd better take a good book Otto, and retire to your bed, or somewhere on the shady side of the house.

F. alburyana has flowered twice for me, one in June and once in August, neither time was the winter very cold, nor the previous year, which could have more to do with it. It didn't flower this year (08) though and I think I'll repot - very soon - and put the pot in the refrigerator until early winter and see what happens.

This was the first flowering. The pink is very pure, no purplish at all, as I've seen in other pics of this species. It seems to be carved from rose quartz, almost chrystalline.

[David Nicholson]

That's a little beauty Lesley.

[Maggi Young]

43 degrees is beyond comprehension here, cold compresses would be called for  .... we've had a sunny day but it's been getting icy since nightfall.

Lesley, your F. alburyana is charming.... one of the prettiest frits I think.